A Serpent's Promise
by TRikiD
Summary: The curse has been lifted, and the true identity of the Great Devourer is revealed. What lies within the monstrous snake is an exiled Serpentine, and she wishes to make up for her horrible past by helping to train Lloyd for the final battle.
1. Chapter 1 - The Real Devourer

A Serpent's Promise

Chapter 1 - The Real Devourer

Everything in Ninjago City seemed to have gone back to normal; true, it was now covered in the splattered guts and poison of the Great Devourer, but the city was still in one piece—for the most part. And although Garmadon has disappeared along with all four of the Golden Weapons, everyone was ecstatic to find their beloved Sensei Wu was still alive and well, as he rose from the goop of the giant snake.

The ninja, Nya and Lloyd cheered as they sprinted towards the wise man, but he ignored them as he tried to spit out the horrible taste of snake in his mouth. Luckily, Wu found his trusty teapot, which had also found its way into the stomach of the Devourer, and hastily poured himself a cup of tea to wash it down.

They all stood around him and smiled, as he took a big wig of tea and laughed at the fact that it was still hot.

"It's good to have you back, Uncle," Lloyd chuckled in great relief, but a frown suddenly crossed his face, "But my father left, and he took the Golden Weapons."

"Ah, very true. The ability of the weapon is truly great, but the ability to better oneself makes you limitless," Wu slowly but firmly explained.

"I couldn't have said it any better myself," Jay added happily.

"Besides, we have what's most important: You," Kai pointed out while placing a reassuring hand on Lloyd's shoulder.

"The pupils have become the masters," Wu commented with an approving nod.

But despite Wu's comforting words, Lloyd stared down at the ground in fear, "Am I really gonna have ta fight my father one day?"

Wu nodded, "One day. But today, we can feel good that Ninjago is saved—for tomorrow, you will train for the day when good will finally face evil, and a final outcome will be decided for all of time."

"U-Uh, but don't worry! We're gonna teach you everything we know," Kai quickly stated.

"And make sure you're prepared for that battle," Jay pointed out.

"Because as we all know, good will _always_ stand up to evil," Cole firmly informed.

"And ninja always stand up for what is right," Zane added with a smile.

Wu and Nya exchanged knowing glances, and the ninja, including Lloyd, were just about to jump up into the air and cheer about being a ninja—but a nearby groan effortlessly caught everyone's attention.

Mere seconds later, a large pile of snake guts started to twitch, as a dark mass trapped inside tried to free itself from the gelatinous mass. Everyone watched in confused silence, and they stepped back when a tall and lithe figure suddenly burst out of the green goop.

They all gasped and stared in awe at the creature before them; they were a couple feet taller than the average man, covered from head to toe in dark green scales with white scales on their underbelly, and there was a spiked frill atop their head that stretched down to their shoulders. If they didn't know any better, they would swear that this creature looked a lot like…

"Ugh…w-where…am I?" the creature spoke, their voice hoarse but defientely feminine. And when she opened her eyes to take in her surroundings, they shared an unmistakable resemblance to the shimmering amethyst glow of the Great Devourer.

"Who are _you_?" Lloyd was the first to ask, and he did nothing to hide the disgust in his tone.

"I-I…well, I…" the Serpent-like creature tried to answer, but Wu walked up to her and stared deep into her eyes. She remained quiet as he stared up at her, and he hummed in deep thought while stroking his beard.

"I believe this creature is the Great Devourer," Wu eventually stated.

"Really? What gave it away? Was it the sickening green scales, the piercing purple eyes, or the creepy-ass frill?" Cole ranted on.

"Don't forget the huge fangs," Jay whispered to his fellow teammates, and they nodded agreement when they noticed the four abnormally large and shiny fangs protruding from the creature's mouth.

"Forgive me for my frightening appearance, but I promissse, I mean you know harm," the female creature said while holding her hands up in defense.

"Nice try, but we've learned not to trust snakes, so you can jut slither back to whatever hole you crawled out of," Jay growled threateningly.

"That'sss just it—I do not have a home."

"And we care, because why? As long as it's not here, we couldn't give two rats' asses where you live," Kai sneered.

"Pleasssse, I wish to make it up to you. You may not know this, but I was curssssed. I wasss not always the monssster I once wasss, and that isss certainly not who I am anymore," the tall snake explained.

"So, what you're saying is that you want to _help_ us?" Nya asked in disbelief, and the snake nodded rapidly.

"Hmm—I suppose we can learn to put the past behind us," Wu pondered aloud.

"What? Sensei, you can't be serious!" Cole exclaimed in surprise.

"I can, and I am. We will need all the help we can get for the final battle. And if this creature stays true to her word, she could be the difference between victory and defeat."

"Oh, thank you, thank you. You are very kind, Sir. How can I ever repay you?" the snake sighed in great relief.

"Just promise to help us prepare for the final battle, and that will be payment enough," Wu added with a smile.

The snake smiled back, "I promissse, I will do everything I can to help, Sir."

"Good. And there is no need to be so formal. My name is Sensei Wu, and these are the ninja: Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane."

When Wu called each of his students' names, neither one of them gave the serpent a look of kindness. But she smiled and bowed respectfully nonetheless.

"Hi, I'm Nya. Unlike my arrogant brother, I'm actually a samurai," Nya pointed out with a smirk.

"Hey!" Kai snapped at being called arrogant.

"A sssamurai, you say? They were very powerful and cherished warriorsss back when I wasss younger. I am honored to be in your pressssence, Miss Nya," the snake explained with another bow.

Nya couldn't help but giggle, "Thanks. And just 'Nya' is fine."

The snake finally noticed the young boy, and smiled down at him, "And who are you?"

Lloyd was just as disapproving to have to make nice with this creature, as he backed away and glared up at her, "Lloyd Garmadon, son of Lord Garmadon, the man _you_ corrupted with your venom."

"Oh, dear. I am very sssorry. I must have poisssoned him after I was cursssed. You must undersssstand that I was not in control of my own actionssss back then," she tried to explain, and leaned down to get eye-level with Lloyd, "I promissse, one way or another, I _will_ make it up to you and your father."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Lloyd scoffed and walked away to blow off some steam.

"I hate ta say it, but I agree with the kid. We shouldn't be so quick to trust her, Sensei," Cole argued while crossing his arms.

"If you do not trust her, then trust me. I believe she truly wants to make up for what she has done," Wu said sternly.

"I hope you're right, Sensei," Kai sighed in defeat, as he and the other ninja followed Lloyd to try and distract themselves with cleaning up the city.

And as she watched them leave, the female snake finally took in the sight of the huge mess around her.

"Did I really do all of thisss?" she asked as her frill drooped in shame.

"Yeah, there's no sugarcoating it," Nya reluctantly replied, "But hey, at least you didn't eat everything?"

"I ssstill ate and dessstroyed too much. It isss as you ssssaid: I cannot ignore the damage I have inflicted on your home, ssso I am prepared for what ever punishment you have planned for me."

Nya and Wu looked at each other knowingly, as the snake bowed her head to receive her punishment. But instead, all she received was a comforting hand on both of her shoulders. She glanced up in surprise, and found that both of them had placed a hand on her shoulders while smiling warmly.

"As long as you try to atone for your mistakes, I see no reason to punish you," Wu explained softly.

"You may be willing to forgive me, but what of your sssstudents? They have gone out of their way to show their dissssdain for me."

"Eh, just ignore 'em. They'll be a bit bitter at first, but they'll learn to like you," Nya added with a scoff.

"You really think sssso?"

"I _know_ so."

The snake smiled at that, "Thank you. You have no idea how much your hossspitality meanssss to me."

"You are very welcome, but there is one more thing we need to know," Wu began while smirking, "What is your name?"

"Oh! My full name is Devonella Crudesora Alligasi Tulanosi," the snake replied happily.

"Um…" Nya muttered as she and Wu once again looked at each other, but this time in confusion.

She quickly noticed this, and chuckled in embarrassment, "You may give me a shorter name if you like."

"How about 'Devon'?" Nya suggested.

"That is a much simpler and more popular choice," Wu added in agreement.

The snake gave a single nod, "'Devon' it isss, then."

* * *

**I won't lie, this is kinda inspired by The Ancient Magus' Bride. So, if you've ever heard of that anime, there might be some similarities(I'm not entirely sure, though).**

**Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Training with Devon

Chapter 2 - Training with Devon

Once Devon pulled herself out of the goop, it was revealed that she did not have a long tail like the Serpentine generals, but instead a strong set of legs with large claws at the ends of her feet. And that wasn't the only thing that was revealed about her physical appearance.

She also lacked the same _features_ as female humans, but Devon was curious as to why all humans chose to wore clothes.

"I find it interessssting how you choose to hide your gender traitsss," Devon eventually admitted, as she walked down the street with Nya and Wu.

"Well, our customs, as well as our appearances, are quite different from yours, but that does not mean we are not the same on the inside," Wu explained.

"I fail sssee how that is possssible. You are warm-blooded mammalssss, and I am a cold-blooded reptile."

"What Sensei means is, we're glad that you're trying to learn about us instead of acting like a…a…," Nya began with a smile, but cut herself when she realized what she was about to say.

Devon quickly noticed this, though, and grimaced, "Acting like a _what_? A sssavage?"

"Nya did mean that at all," Wu defended the said samurai, to which Devon sighed.

"Yessss, I know. I am jussst so used to being judged and shunned in the blink of an eye. And I was raisssed to either run away, or fight back."

"Well, your fighting skills will be greatly appreciated here, I can assure," Wu pointed out.

"I you sssay so."

With that, they led Devon to a vehicular rental store, and Nya rented an electric scooter with a sidecar. She drove the scooter while Wu rode in the sidecar, and Devon walked next to them as Nya drove slow enough for her to keep up.

They eventually found the ninja trying to fix a streetlamp on the corner of the block, and Nya and Wu explained that they would be gone for a day to pick up dragon ointment and parts to fix the Ninja Tank. But before they left, Nya made sure to give the ninja a brochure of a real estate agency that could help them find a new home.

"Hey, wait a minute! What about her?!" Cole snapped while pointing at Devon.

"Devon can stay here, and help you look after Lloyd," Wu replied before giggling like a child, "Now, punch it, Nya!"

"Aye-aye, Sensei!" Nya shouted before speeding off, and Wu held up his hands as if he were on a rollercoaster.

"'Patty Keys: Real Estate Queen'," Jay read the front of the brochure aloud with a smirk, "Huh, this is exactly what we need. Once we get a roof over our head, we can start properly training Lloyd."

"Good, 'cause if we know Lord Garmadon, he's not gonna be taking any breaks. And let's not forget: The Serpentine are still at large," Cole added, but quickly looked at Devon in fear, "N-No offense."

"None taken. I underssstand where your fear iss coming from, but I am no longer a part of their barbaric waysss," Devon confirmed.

"You're still one of them, though," a voice sneered, as Lloyd rounded the street corner and glared daggers at Devon.

"Yesss, I am acutely aware of that. And I can't begin to ssssay how sssorry I am for corrupting your father," Devon tried to apologize, but Lloyd once again shrugged her off by waving his hand.

"No, ya can't. You ruined his life, _and_ mine," Lloyd growled.

"U-Uh, why don't we start looking for our new place, huh?" Kai awkwardly cut in, and started walking with Lloyd in the opposite direction.

"I fear I may never get through to him," Devon admitted with a heavy sigh.

"We once thought that, too, but we eventually showed him what was right," Zane spoke softly to the tall Serpentine.

Devon looked down at him in surprise, "You're not ssstill mad at me?"

"We are still a bit fearful, but if Sensei Wu trusts you, I suppose we should learn to as well," Zane stated with a smile, to which Devon smiled back.

"I am glad to hear that. What did you sssay your name wasss again?"

"I am Zane, elemental master of ice."

Zane then stuck out his hand, and Devon didn't hesitate to shake it.

"It isss nice to truly make your acquaintance, Zane."

* * *

Once Zane and Devon caught up with the others, they contacted Patty from the real estate agency to discuss looking for new homes. Unfortunately, the first offer she had for them was a single-room apartment on the ground floor, and it was very unkempt with a depressing view of a dark alley.

"This one-bedroom, one half-bath is a cozy dream," Patty explained, as she made it painfully obvious that she was trying to sugarcoat the place's poor conditions, "Who needs extras when everything is in arm's reach? Now, wait until you see the lighting!"

Patty then reached for the light switch next to the door, but the single incandescent bulb that hang on a chain from the ceiling instantly fell to the floor when she turned it on.

"Uh, why do I smell old people?" Lloyd questioned as his nose wrinkled from the odd smell.

"Look, Kid, I'm trying to work around your budget. This is all you can afford," Patty explained in utter annoyance.

"Um…this looks promising?" Cole figured.

"I've lived in densss bigger than thissss," Devon muttered under her breath.

Cole only shook his head to try and ignore the terrible setting, "Remember, guys, Sensei told us our main objective is to train Lloyd, not kick our feet up in some swanky suite. If this is all we can afford, then it's all we can afford."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's not rush inta any decision. I mean, if it's really all about Lloyd, don't we need ta live some place that'll make his training easier?" Jay quickly pointed out.

"Yeah, Jay's right," Kai reluctantly admitted, "If we have ta get Lloyd ready ta save Ninjago from his father, shouldn't he at least have his own room?"

"Technically, that does not matter. He only-," Zane tried to inform, only to be cut off by a harsh elbow in the torso from Kai.

"We're only thinking about the children," Jay laughed nervously.

"I do have another property that you'll just love," Patty spoke up.

They were all quite intrigued, and they let her lead them up to the top of a tall building. And the second property they were greeted with was far better than the first one.

"Now, this is the eight-bedroom Hero Suite. Floor-to-ceiling windows, digital wall television, state of the art game console…" Patty went on, and they all marveled at how much more wonderful this place was. But it seemed too good to be true.

"Uh, it seems a little out of our price range," Cole stated worriedly.

Patty shrugged it off, "Oh, sure. It costs a little more, but you deserve it. I forgot to mention, there's also a dragon keep on the roof."

"Nice!" Jay commented, "Maybe we can get a hero discount? After all, we are the ninja who saved the city."

"I thought Lord Garmadon saved the city," Patty argued matter-of-factly.

"He did. But he would not have been able to do it without their Golden Weaponssss," Devon informed firmly, and Patty visibly shrank in fear when the former flicked her tongue at her.

"We could get pay jobs to pay for the extra expenses," Kai quickly suggested.

"We always said we could use a little more responsibility," Zane added vigorously.

"But we have to train Lloyd," Kai pointed out.

"Did I mention the in-house training facility?" Patty cut in while grabbing a universal remote, and a secret door in the wall opened at the press of a button. They all stared into the secret room, and were bewildered at the sight of an arena filled with training equipment of various kinds.

"We'll take it!" the four older ninja shouted in unison.

* * *

Even after the ninja were able to find day jobs, they still had to leave Devon and Lloyd behind at the suite. It seemed like a good idea to the ninja at first, but things had grown quite awkward between the tall snake and the green ninja once they were left alone.

Lloyd tried to distract himself by trying out the training equipment, but it wasn't easy as Devon continued to watch him from the corner of the room.

"What? You planning to turn me evil, too?" Lloyd sneered after finally having enough, and jumped off of the moving equipment to approach Devon.

"Not at all. I'm just making sure you ssstay safe becaussse I wassss given the tasssk of watching you while the others are at work," Devon calmly protested.

"I don't care. You're still an evil snake, and that's never gonna change."

"I-It could if you give me another chance."

"A chance ta do what? Stab me in the back?"

"No. To train you."

Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows in disbelief, "How would you do that? You don't even know Spinjitzu."

"You're right, I don't. But I _do_ know the ancient fighting style of the snake. Aren't you even a little interessssted?"

"No."

"Very well. I supposssse I will jussst train on my own, then."

Without warning, Devon performed a front flip onto one of the moving platforms, and effortlessly landed on both feet. This easily caught Lloyd's attention, and he watched in curiosity as she dodged and struck the dummies coming towards her. She showed feats of strength and agility that resembled that of the other ninja, and Lloyd was starting to get a bit jealous. It just wasn't fair to him that an evil snake, who literally tried to destroy everything the day before, was able to fight just as well as him.

Devon was so focused on fighting and dodging that she failed to notice the dirty look Lloyd was giving her, and she darted over to a barrel of weapons to grab a sword. She grabbed the weapon mere seconds before a slot in the wall opened, and started launching shurikens at her. She effortlessly managed to angle the sword the right way to make the shurikens bounce off, and impale themselves in the wall right next to Lloyd's head.

The sound of the weapons hitting the wall was enough to snap him back to reality, and he helped when he saw how deep the shurikens dug into the wall.

"That isss one of the bassssic rules of combat: Alwaysss pay attention," Devon instructed while placing one hand on her hip, and putting the sword back in the barrel.

"Beginner's luck," Lloyd scoffed.

"Actually, I am far above the level of a novice. I've been trained in combat for roughly fifty yearssss."

Lloyd gasped at that, "H-How old _are_ you?!"

"Well, the lassst time I checked, I wasss at leassst half of a millennial old."

"Uh, what's a millennial?"

"It isss one thousssand yearsss."

"What?! You're over five hundred years old?! No way!"

Devon giggled at the boy's shock, "It isss very true. I am told that I look quite young for my age, though."

"I'll say."

All of the sudden, the door burst open as the ninja hobbled in, and they complained about how horrible their first day of work was. Each of them were either sore, on the brink of passing out, or stiff from the long day.

"I take it your firssst day on the job wasss not like you hoped?" Devon guessed.

"I-I don't even have the energy…to play video games," Jay grunted after collapsing onto the floor.

"But I thought you were gonna train me when you got home," Lloyd stated with worry.

"Sorry, Champ, but we can't until we make rent," Cole begrudgingly added, "How close are we, Jay?"

The said master of lighting dragged himself to the jar of money, and gasped when he shook it, "Is this jar getting bigger?! We're not even close!"

"And our rent is due tomorrow," Zane informed.

"I can pull a double shift," Cole offered with a shrug.

"And I can do overtime," Zane quickly added.

"Maybe I can sling a few more pizza pies," Jay pondered aloud.

"And I can make a little extra if I do the human piñata," Kai stated, only for the others to blink at him in confusion, "Don't ask…"

"Great, then our priorities are set. Tomorrow, we make rent," Cole confirmed.

"And, uh, what about me?" Lloyd piped up.

"Isss there anything I can do assss well?" Devon offered.

Cole groaned in pain when he put his sore feet back in the tub of ice water, "How about you help out, and fetch me some more ice?"

Lloyd and Devon exchanged worried glances, but said nothing else as they grabbed a bucket and headed downstairs to get some more ice.

"Do you think they will be able to make enough money in time?" Devon eventually asked out of doubt.

"Hey, these are the _ninja_ we're talking about. I'll be damned if they don't keep us a place ta stay," Lloyd boasted with a grin.

"Oh, my. You have quite a mature vocabulary for someone of your age."

"Yeah, well, I was raised in Darkley's School for Bad Boys. Being a mouthy little prick is what I was taught."

"And yet, you are helping the heroesss fight the good fight?"

"I have to now that I'm the destined Green Ninja—plus, they're the only real family I've ever known. My father was never there for me, and I never knew my mother."

Devon instantly felt guilty, especially when Lloyd's tone became sorrowful, "I have not sssseen my parents in a long time either."

Lloyd looked up at her curiously, "What happened to them?"

"That doesssn't really matter right now. Now, come. We need to hurry and get that ice for poor Cole'sss feet," Devon denied while shaking her head, and even picked up her pace. Lloyd found himself even more intrigued by Devon's past, but remained quiet as he followed her.

* * *

After once again being left alone while the others went back to work, Lloyd started playing video games to pass the time instead. Devon sat next to him on the couch, and concentrated hard on the flashing images on the TV.

"What isss that?" Devon eventually asked.

"What? You mean, the video game?" Lloyd questioned, not even bothering to take his eyes off of the screen.

"What isss a 'video game'?"

Lloyd immediately paused the game, and gawked at Devon, "You've _never_ played a video game?!"

"No. It hassss not been possssible. I have been locked in a tomb for the lassst couple of hundred yearsss, and when I wasssn't locked away, we did not have thissss kind of entertainment."

"Oh, right. Well…here, lemme show you how. Just take the controller in both your hands, and use the analog stick to control your dragon through the flight course."

Lloyd stifled a laugh when Devon brought the controller close to her eyes, and fiddled with one of the analog sticks with her thumb and index finger.

"No, like this," Lloyd chuckled while fixing Devon's hold on the controller, and made sure she grasped both sides properly, "Good. Now, just use your thumb to move the stick.

Devon placed her thumb on the stick, and her eyes widened in amazement slowly when it moved underneath her hold. But a loud crash and a bright flash of white caught their attention, as a cloud of smoke appeared and a sign on the screen that read "Game Over" blinked repeatedly.

"Whoops. Um…you just died," Lloyd awkwardly informed.

"I…died?" Devon parroted, unable to take her eyes away from the game.

"Y-Yeah, but don't worry! It happens to everyone."

"I died."

"Again, there's no need to get upset."

"I died! How wonderful!" Devon suddenly shouted with complete happiness, which took Lloyd by surprise.

"Wait, you're not mad?"

"Mad? Why would I be mad? I jussst died in my firsssst ever video game! It'sss given me a feeling of competitivenessss, and we Ssserpentine _love_ to compete."

Lloyd chuckled and smiled, "Really? Well, if you want, I could get another controller, and we could play co-op."

"That sssounds like-," Devon began with vigor, her smile instantly faltered and her frill flared up, as she whipped her head towards the window.

"What's wrong?"

Lloyd leaned forward to follow Devon's gaze, but screamed in terror when he saw none other than Skales on a window cleaner, and the platform continued to lower to their floor.

"Hello, little boy," Skales taunted while knocking on the window.

"Get out of here! I'm hold him off!" Devon hissed while jumping into battle stance, and Lloyd sprinted over to the door to escape. But when he tried to type in the code to unlock the door, it remained shut tight.

"You really think _you_ can sssstop me?" Skales asked in disbelief after cutting a hole in the window with his staff to enter.

"I'll do _everything_ in my power to protect that boy," Devon threatened as her frill stretched out to its full length, but it did nothing to intimidate Skales.

"W-What do you want with me, Skales?!" Lloyd demanded.

"You ssseem to be the only thing your father caresss about. But with you as my hosssstage, he'll have no choice but to let me lead the Serpentine," Skales explained with a dark chuckle.

"You won't lay a claw on hisss head—not while I'm around," Devon hissed.

"Hello?! What's going on in there?!" Sensei Wu's voice called from the other side of the door, as he and Nya knocked rapidly.

"Help!" Lloyd shouted at the top of his lungs.

Skales quickly noticed that Devon glanced back at the door at the sound of Wu's voice, and used this as an opportunity to strike. He struck her in the side of the face with his staff, causing her to grab her snout in pain. But Devon snarled and lunged at the Hypnobrai, and attempted to kick him in the face.

Skales was too quick for Devon, though, as he dodged her attack and grabbed her ankle. He then flung her over his head, and sent her crashing into the coffee table hard enough to break it. Devon was dazed for another few seconds, but she shook away the dizziness in time to roll out of the way before Skales could hit her with his staff again.

Devon jumped to her feet and snatched the staff from Skales when he tried to hit her for a third time. She hit him in the blink of an eye, and dazed him long enough to kick him onto his back. Once he was down, she straddled him with her hips and pressed the staff down on his throat. The more she pressed down, the quicker Skales lost oxygen and clear vision.

"Devon!" Wu shouted at the top of his lungs, and his voice was enough to snap her out of it. She looked down and realized she was about to murder Skales, which would have made her stoop to his level. The last thing she would do was murder in cold blood again, so she bashed her head against Skales' forehead to knock him unconscious.

"Whoa…" Lloyd breathed in awe.

"That'sss another important rule of combat: Don't ssstoop to your enemy'ssss level," Devon informed between huffs, as she rose to her feet to recollect herself.

Lloyd really, _really_ hated to admit it, but he was even more jealous of Devon's fighting skills than ever before—as well as very impressed.

* * *

**Yeah, I know I just posted the first chapter maybe an hour ago, but I just can't stop writing right now.**

**Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


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